


It's a Date

by SenkoWakimarin



Series: RomCom AU [2]
Category: The Punisher (TV 2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Romantic Comedy, Denial of Feelings, Idiots in Love, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-02
Updated: 2019-09-02
Packaged: 2020-10-09 17:40:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 820
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20486954
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SenkoWakimarin/pseuds/SenkoWakimarin
Summary: Dates are not happening; no dates have, are, or will occur.





	It's a Date

**Author's Note:**

  * For [kokopellifacetattoo](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kokopellifacetattoo/gifts).

It was not a date. 

It was not a date because you ask someone to go on a date. You plan a date. Dress up, or at least shower before leaving your shoe box apartment. A date is not your best friend showing up unannounced, hung over, to ask if you have anything he can use as a live animal trap -- and it's definitely not a date when you get roped into spending hours at Home Depot looking at DIY pest control solutions. 

And yeah, okay, so Frank took him out to lunch. And it was fun, spending time with him, just hanging out doing something that had nothing to do with either of their jobs or David's divorce. 

It was still not a date. Frank was exhausted when he showed up and he got exasperated over David being able to build a computer but getting confused by how a two door feral cat trap is supposed to work. That's what the long looks were about, frustration, not fondness. And Frank was often tactile, right from the start; puts his hand on David's shoulder, squeezes him just above the elbow, swats the back of his head when they're play-arguing and David says something catty. 

Putting his hand on the back of David's neck while they were watching traffic from the patio of the little sandwich place Frank took him after they'd wandered Home Depot for close to three hours was not a romantic thing, not when it only happened because David started to get mopey about his ex and Frank was gently pointing out that he was being a jackass.

It's not a date. It's not a date because Frank would have _asked _to go on a date. That's why they're called dates, because you schedule them. 

And if it _was _a date, it wouldn't be a problem. David's divorced and Frank's chronically single and they are both adults with compatible world views and similar senses of humor. Going on a date would be perfectly fine, but they didn't, even if they could, because Home Depot and a sandwich lunch is _not _a date.

David thinks his divorce lawyer would have a field day listening to him argue this case in his own head. He thinks Frank would be rolling on the floor. Sarah would give him that look that was both long-suffering and hopelessly fond and she'd pat his cheek and suggest that maybe he was protesting a little too much.

The thing is, though, that it was not a date. He needs to keep that very clear in his head. He has not gone on a date with anyone, and probably just to keep things perfectly crystal clear, he _shouldn't_ go on any dates until the little piece of paper finally arrives from the court stating for once and all that he and Sarah were through. Just to avoid confusion or awkwardness if something came up.

And lets be realistic here. Frank was a good looking guy who's active life style and choice of trade had made his body the sort of beefcake statuesque art piece that professional actors and modes would kill or die to have. Frank was at home in his skin and could pick up any guy he wanted, as frequently proven by the one-night stands and Grindr hook ups he mentions regularly. Guys like Frank could settle down with literally anyone in the world, which meant they'd never pick a scrawny, paunchy, divorced day drinker like David.

Those are just facts. Sounds rough but it pays to keep these things stripped to bare-bones fact and bare bones are never pretty. 

Not a date. It was not a date. 

David doesn't even need to justify that with a because, he doesn't need reasons for why it wasn't because you don't need to justify everything. Sometimes things just are -- or are not. And today was fun, and it was nice to get out of the apartment, and Frank was kind enough to buy him lunch for no reason other than he though David would like that deli, but it was not a date. 

It just was not.

He would have showered for a date.

Settling on his ratty second-hand couch, David cracks the top on his beer and checks the time on his phone just in time to feel it buzz with an incoming message.

From Frank.

[4:34 PM: days u have off next week? was thinking i could show you how to fix your door]

That's not a date either. That's just Frank's weird hangup about David's building's complete lack of security. He’s been harping about how the entryway door is improperly hung in David’s apartment since the first time David had him over, it’s an unending thing with Frank. And anyway, fixing a door is not a date either. 

[4:35 PM: dont worry ill think of something better for 3rd date ;)]

_ Fuck_. 


End file.
